Information Services

Early English Text Society (c. 9th-c. 16th century)

The Early English Text Society was founded in 1864 by Frederick James Furnivall, with the help of Richard Morris, Walter Skeat, and others. The Society’s stated aim was to ‘on the one hand, to print all that is most valuable of the yet unprinted MSS in English, and, on the other, to re-edit and reprint all that is most valuable in printed English books, which from their scarcity or price are not within the reach of the student of moderate means.’ It was subsequently the first to print many English manuscripts, including, for example, Cotton Nero A.x, which contains Pearl, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and other poems.